Doctors, Exercise, and Michael Douglas

I met with a couple of doctors last week. I asked about occasional headaches and body achiness. He replied that this is not uncommon as the body is adjusting to the effects of chemo and radiation. As for the dry mouth, that continues to be an issue that will not go away but that is also common with my type of cancer. The biggest immediate challenge I face these days is the loss of salivary glands and taste buds which unfortunately result in food consumption being not impossible but a real challenge. Diane came up with a great parallel as she watches me attempt to eat. Remember when you were a little kid and your parents made you eat something you just couldn't stand? To get through the experience, you guzzled it down with a big gulp of milk. Every meal is like that for me. Take a bite, take a swallow of water, take a bite, take a swallow of water, and so on. You get the picture. At least now, I can take that swallow of water when before I couldn't.

Friday night we actually left the house for 2 hours to attend a cocktail party in honor of newlyweds Cathy Cavins and her husband Ashley. I managed to eat 2 huge shrimp, a meatball, a carrot stick, and a key lime cupcake with LOTS of icing. The shrimp was doused with plenty of cocktail sauce, the meatball was a challenge, and the carrot stick was accompanied by copious amounts of dip. After 2 hours, it was time for me to go home, but it was good for us to get out for a while.

The oncologist, Dr. Ali, suggested I have the next PET-scan after Thanksgiving rather than before to give those "hot spots" a chance to either disappear or grow enough to warrant further treatment. This means I will keep PEG in until that time as if I remove it now and then need more attention, I would have to have it reinserted. Then I would have 3 navels instead of the 2 I have to date.

Diane and I had appointments with a dermatologist in Burlington, IA, last week as Diane had not been in quite some time, and I always have questionable areas. She found 2 dark moles on Diane's back and suggested they should be removed and biopsied. They required stitches but we got the call yesterday that they are both benign. Good news!! Naturally, I was not so lucky. I had a scraping of a spot on my shoulder blade and the results were that it reveals basal cell cancer which is the least significant of skin cancers. It is nothing to worry about but I must return for a few more scrapings to eliminate it. This is nothing for a guy who has had 3 squamous cell skin cancers removed. I will also have a comprehensive laser treatment on my face as I have lots of actinic keratosis (precancerous) cells. I hope to go to the SIU Medical Hospital in Springfield, IL, for this very specific procedure. Again, this is nothing to worry about but needs to be addressed.

Tomorrow I plan to return to the Spencer Recreation Center for a very mild workout with weights. My months of inactivity have resulted in some mild muscle atrophy, and I just want to begin the process of getting stronger. I have never been a serious "weight guy" but I figure 30 minutes or so 3 times a week is probably good for me in more ways than one. Dr. Ali gave me his stamp of approval.

No doubt you have noticed the absence of Michael Douglas the last couple of weeks after his recent media blitz announcing his battle with base of tongue cancer. I knew this was coming. He is at the point where he is deep into treatment, and I'm sure he is consumed with battling his disease. Diane reminds me that there was a month or so where I slept 17 hours a day and saw virtually no one except our children and medical professionals. Heck, I couldn't even talk!! My prayers go out to Michael Douglas and his family and everyone else who deals with potentially terminal diseases. It's ironic how my mind now thinks about such things. Apparently, cancer does that to a person.